Unfriendly at terminal, unfriendly at home
Written: Apr 25 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: none
Cons: rude gate agents, canceled flights blamed on weather, lack of concern afterwards
The Bottom Line: If you have a choice, avoid Northwest Airlines. With rude gate agents and un-interested corporate personnel if you do have trouble, there are better airline choices out there.
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| Jack1963's Full Review: Northwest Airlines |
After claiming we would be boarding in a few minutes, Northwest canceled a recent flight "due to weather conditions." While this alone would not normally upset me, the fact that there was no plane at the gate to board in the 1st place makes the cancellation suspect. And, along with other flights that continued service at the same time--it was raining lightly outside--it quickly became obvious that Northwest was canceling the flight for reasons of its own.
Less than a minute after the announcement, I called the 800 reservations number while waiting in the long line at the counter and learned that I had already been rescheduled on another airline. This seemed to be another clue that the cancellation had been determined prior to that point.
Most of the passengers, including myself, were looking at a minimum of 4 hour delays before other airline flights could get us on our way, yet the Northwest gate agents made it very clear that Northwest owed us nothing, and that they were under no obligation to us since the delay was due to weather.
I have flown many airlines all over the world, and most of the time I have received a minimum of a "meal voucher" for extended airport delays. A Northwest agent laughed in my face when I mentioned this. I listened to several other passengers ask for some sort of compensation, only to be rudely told that it was not Northwest's problem.
When I finally made it home (5 hours late), I sent an email to Northwest and received a reply from a customer service supervisor who, while claiming that they want to make customers happy, simply stated that weather delays absolve the airline of any further obligation. When I replied with the facts of no plane at the gate in the 1st place, the follow-up reply just stated that they were under no obligation to compensate passengers.
I have had airlines compensate for simply changing gates at the last minute, and while I realize that this is somewhat extreme, it certainly made an impression on me that the airline really did care what customers thought. Northwest was not interested in customer service while I was in the terminal nor were they interested in customer service once I returned home.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Jack1963
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Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 3 members
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